19 August 2023
No leakage, 1.5 miles, a clean house, clean laundry and homemade Mac and cheese. It’s been a good day!
Last week I got a craving for Mac and cheese. No idea why. I have on hand, for emergencies, the “add water” dehydrated stuff but I wanted to make the real thing. If it tastes the way I think, I’ll freeze what I don’t eat tonight and have it available for days I don’t feel like cooking.
I didn’t wear a bandage or bandaid last night over the drain incision. It apparently has sealed up nicely and I didn’t get any stains on the sheets. I got plenty of sleep but incision did wake me up around 5 am with an itching/burning sensation. That kept up until midday. I suspect it’s part of the healing process since it is neither red nor inflamed.
I continue to peel away some type of plastic film from the mastectomy incision. I may be shedding that stuff for quite a while. As it comes off, there’s less of that pulling sensation which gives me greater comfort. For the first time since the surgery, I was able to sleep on my left side for a bit.
Another day of high 70’s as I began my walk. Not sure why we are getting these “low” temperatures in August but no complaints. Of course the humidity was 96%. After so long of not walking, it’s interesting to see the changes along the neighborhood streets. There’s one house under new construction along today’s route and its been a slow go. Today I noticed they had installed impact windows. After Andrew, the South Florida building code requires all new construction and any renovations to have impact windows installed. Several years ago, I had them installed for noise abatement and for energy efficiency. They are worth the expense!
Cleaning house is always a challenge but more so since the surgery. I notice when I reach up overhead or reach downward, my left arm feels the strain. I’m sure it’ll get better but I suspect I’ll always have a twinge in that arm now. I certainly do with the right arm where I had the biceps surgery. It’s amazing how physical cleaning can be. You use muscles you don’t think about until there’s a strain.
Wash day is wash day. It’s boring. I think that’s why I decided to do the Mac and cheese today – to give me something to do between loads in the washer and dryer. So far, both washer and dryer seem OK from the flood. I think at one time the washer was putting too much hot water into the mix but I found that when the construction people put it back after renovation of the utility room, they hadn’t opened the cold water valve all the way. Either that or they confused hot water/cold water lines.
At 6 pm, some friends are scheduled for a zoom meeting. We can be like our grandparents and sit around and discuss our various ailments. We certainly have plenty to talk about.
Stay tuned!